Epic Games’ ‘Fortnite’ To Be Unveiled at Comic-Con

One of the most interesting surprise new game announcements to come out of the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards in December was for Fortnite, a brand new IP from Epic Games. Stepping far away from the chainsaws and grit of Gears of War, Fortnite embraces a very colorful and cartoony art style, with gameplay which has been compared to Minecraft for its survival and crafting.

Outside of some possible hints of Fortnite coming as a PC exclusive, there’s been no talk of the game from Epic since December-January and it was nowhere to be found at E3 2012. It will however, be unveiled at the next big event Game Rant and sister site Screen Rant are planning to attend: San Diego Comic-Con.

After the cinematic Fortnite teaser trailer premiered, there was as much intrigue as there were questions, and as such the people of Epic Games were bombarded with questions via Twitter. Epic Games Lead Designer Lee Perry responded to confirm a few gameplay details, stating that Fortnite does feature non-scripted “freeform construction” and that’ll allow players to build a world and destroy everything in it.

During a brief press conference following the trailer unveil, Epic’s Design Director Cliff Bleszinski briefly added a little more, saying the Fortnite does feature shooting, but that it’s mainly about survival. We’ve yet to see any gameplay for the game that aims to reach a more casual audience, but that’ll change for 1000 eager gamers (only that many seats available) during Epic’s Fortnite panel at SDCC.

On Thursday, July 12 at 10:45 to 11:45 AM PST at San Diego Comic-Con, be sure to check out the panel, Epic Games Presents: Fortnite Revealed.

Host Jessica Chobot (G4TV’s X-Play, Attack of the Show) will join Epic Games as it lifts the veil on its new game Fortnite. Teased late last year, attendees will be the very first people in the world to see Fortnite in action.

Get inside the minds of Epic Games‘ Design Director Cliff Bleszinski, Producer Tanya Jessen and Lead Artist Pete Ellis as they reveal inspirations, gameplay details, and why Fortnite is taking Epic Games in both a classic and all-new direction.

The panel will be held in Room 6A.

Will Fortnite be a PC-only title? Could it be to PC what Gears is to Xbox and what Infinity Blade is to iOS? Can it hit the Minecraft demographic?

Fortnite originated during final development of Gears of War 3 where before the studio could begin working on a new triple-A project, much of the team had nothing to do and were divided into teams to come up with ideas. Fortnite was the concept that won out and here we are, with a brand new, radically different IP from the creators of Unreal.